Recommended Related to Heart Disease

Your grandmother, father, and cousin may have heart disease, but even with a
strongly inherited predisposition to the condition you can cut your risks
dramatically by pursuing a heart healthy lifestyle -- and it's easier than you
think. Over 800,000 Americans died from heart attacks and other cardiac illnesses
lasts year, but most of those deaths -- four out of five -- were preventable.
With a few key tips from a world-renowned heart expert you can be on your way
to building a healthy heart...

But before you break out that cocktail shaker, know this: Some doctors aren’t sure if those healthy effects come from the alcohol or from other good lifestyle choices that light drinkers make. So if you don’t drink already, don’t start. Diet and exercise also provide many of the benefits listed above.

Heavy drinking can make you more likely to get serious health problems like liver disease, cancer, and peptic ulcers, among others. Regular or high alcohol use can hurt your heart and lead to diseases of the heart muscle, called cardiomyopathy. Binge drinking can cause irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmias. This is why you can’t save up all your “moderate” doses during the week and then tie one on during the weekend.

Who Shouldn’t Drink?

Alcohol can be harmful for some people. Talk to your doctor if you have one of these conditions and aren’t sure whether you should drink or not:

Heart failure

Cardiomyopathy

High blood pressure

Diabetes

Irregular heart rhythm

A history of stroke

High triglycerides

Obese people, pregnant women, and anyone with a history of alcoholism should not drink. Certain medications don’t mix well with alcohol. These usually come with a warning sticker from your pharmacy that tells you not to drink while you take them.